I'll be honest; I've been sceptical about this Tomb Raider reboot for quite some time. From the footage showing a series of scripted action sequences chained together, to the talk of turning Lara Croft into a 'cornered animal' whom the player will 'want to protect'. Dark, gritty and realistic was the pitch, but various pre-release incidents caused this to muddy, to turn into something a little harder to have confidence in. It was difficult to know what to expect, and going in as a huge fan of the series up till this point, I was worried. In a way, I'm now glad of that concern, because it made the experience of playing through the game all the more surprising.

The image of Lara as a cowering, cornered animal - of a weakened character gradually learning to become strong - is shattered almost instantly. This categorically isn't the characterisation they've gone for. Certainly, there are elements of Lara developing character strength, particularly in regards to saving other people, and indeed in getting stronger in the sense that she finds new equipment as the game progresses, but Lara is never weak. From the very beginning of the game, she's the near-invulnerable action star of Tomb Raiders past, then as the game progresses her methods and skills expand even further. This isn't a negative thing. Rhianna Pratchett and the writing team have created a (semi) believable, relatable protagonist without resorting to the kind of disempowerment certain discussion suggested they would.

In fact, the handling of Lara as a character, as well as that of the other survivors, is masterful. The story itself is a lot more recognisably Tomb Raider than you might expect given the darker new tone, and it's certainly nothing over-elaborate. It goes for the kind of pulpy tone Uncharted does so well, albeit more grounded. What really stands out is how fleshed-out the characters are; everyone from the weasly, cowardly Whitman to the stoic, determined Reyes is memorable. And Lara herself is unquestionably the best interpretation of the character yet; infinitely capable, determined and ingenious in equal measure. It's a refreshing change to see an action hero who isn't just swagger and bravado, there's a much more human side to Lara's character, something touched upon as she's forced to face off against the enemies who make up the story's maniacal cult.

So the tone is strong, and it's populated by an excellent cast of characters, but the overall experience could easily be diminished if not backed up by a stellar game. Tomb Raider is a stellar game, raising the bar for action-adventures incredibly high. The mysterious island on which the game is set is beautifully realised - it really is a stunning-looking game, pushing the current-gen consoles to their limits - filled with eerie forests, windswept cliffs, shanty towns and, most importantly, dank, puzzle-filled tombs. Yes, this Tomb Raider game delights in sending you into tombs, and these often contain a room-spanning puzzle which, while never reaching the realms of implausibility, are brain-teasing enough to be satisfying. Crawling through a tunnel, torch lit, bones crunching underfoot never ceases to be atmospheric, but neither does leaping from cliff to cliff, using Lara's climbing axe to snag hold of a surface in mid-air. There's plenty of traversal-based sections here, and the open-plan levels mean you're often not restricted to one linear route.

The entire island is a coherent, wonderful playground filled with secrets, collectibles and areas you can access on return visits. Throughout the game, Lara picks up a variety of upgrades that enable her to perform additional actions, and these allow you to return to previous areas and access secrets, as well as accessing previously blocked off parts of the current level you're in. Weapon parts and salvage can also be collected, in order to upgrade weapons, as well as earning XP to buy new combat/evasion abilities for Lara. It's a neat upgrade system, particularly as you begin to unlock weapon add-ons, and add more moves to the combat repertoire.

Combat in Tomb Raider is perfectly balanced. There's just the right amount; and it feels exceptionally natural thanks to the excellent level design that contributes a little more than just 'take out a room of enemies'. Foes will flank you, toss grenades, clamber about the levels with almost as much agility as Lara has. Some sections require you to engage in full-on fire fights, and it's here that the combat is at its most kinetic and energetic, with the enemy behaviour forcing you to scramble between covers, clamber about the level and make use of your environment to dispatch foes.

Each of the four weapons offers plenty of variety too; the bow, at long distance, is lethal for headshots but requires more aiming time, the pistol's great for picking off stragglers, the rifle comes into its own when you're being overwhelmed, and the shotgun makes short work of close-up enemies. You won't find yourself sticking to one gun either; frantically switching between weapons creates a flow to the combat which is almost unrivalled. The cover system is fantastic too. Get close enough to a piece of cover and Lara will duck behind it automatically, with just the right level of attachment that you never find yourself fumbling to get away in a jam, but never end up stuck in the open when you don't want to be.

The fact the game makes such great use of its exemplary traversal mechanic during combat keeps things fresh, turning every enemy encounter into a memorable, dramatic experience. Compounded by the themes of survival, these tense, explosive affairs never feel like sections you have to sit through in order to carry on; there's a brilliant sense of coherency to everything, with encounters spaced out just enough to remain exciting without resorting to a lack of action. Stealth comes into play, and here the game draws cues from Rocksteady's Batman titles, with Lara sneaking around, picking off enemies with her bow or engaging in melee stealth attacks. The game never forces the stealth on you; there are no horrible 'get seen and you fail' sections here, just an additional mechanic that lets you tackle certain combat sections in a variety of ways. It's simple, but elegantly effective.

Then there are the set-pieces, which haven't been done justice when shown as cut-together footage. These huge, destructive moments are far more interactive than they might look on video; escaping from burning buildings, leaping from crumbling bridges, dodging crashed planes that hurtle towards the screen. Clearly cues have been drawn from Uncharted here, but here the cinematic moments manage to be more involving, more free-form. They're spaced out enough that they don't become tiresome and control is rarely stripped from you; the game very much favours allowing players to be in charge of the action at all times. The occasional QTE feels a little out of place, and the timing's a bit stingy, but there are about four mandatory QTEs throughout the entire game, so still manage to be tolerable.

The game's a decent length too - I finished somewhere between twelve and fifteen hours, without backtracking or free-travelling to 100% any of the areas or get all the collectibles. There's plenty of bonus content on offer for the discerning adventurer, with relics and documents fleshing out the island and characters' back stories, GPS pickups to find, optional tombs to raid and challenges to complete in each area (such as destroying a certain number of totems, for example). There's plenty to eke out of the game's running time.

Tomb Raider sits comfortably as one of this generation's best action games. It fixes the flaws of past games in the series, without straying too far from its roots to be alienating. Lara's never been represented better, and sits comfortably alongside a cast of nuanced, intelligently-written characters. The environmental traversal is varied, involved and non-linear, and the combat mechanics are fantastic. It's unquestionably the zenith of the series, and since this marks a new beginning for the franchise, that's a very exciting prospect indeed.

[Note: This review deals with the single-player portion of the game. At the time of writing, the multiplayer was unable to be tested due to a lack of players. However, the single player alone is so easy to recommend as a purchase that at this stage there's no way it could impact the score.]